God answered my prayer!

When does God answer your prayer? Did you pray something a week ago that is just now receiving his attention?

Have you ever prayed a prayer in a general way and found that 30 years later God remembered your prayer and answered it in a miraculous way?

I think that God is more loving than any human can comprehend mainly because of one attribute. He never forgets.

Moms and Dads love their children, but sometimes we forget. We forget that the tooth is under the pillow. We forget that the book sale money is due today. We forget that Joe's party is this week-end.

Lovers have great passion for each other, but sometimes they forget. They forget birthdays and anniversaries. They forget what you were wearing when you first kissed. They forget your song and they forget to ask your best friend about her dog.

Pastors love their congregations, but they forget. Employers love their business, but they forget. Presidents say they love their countries and yet they can't know it all.

Who does? God does. He remembers who you are and what you are doing and every prayer that you have prayed.

How do I know? Because, I've even forgotten what I prayed and when. Yet, I've watched God answer them anyway.

This week-end is a perfect example. My husband and two sons love motorcycles. Jamie is 30 and Ken is 26. They decided last year that they wanted a week-end every summer with their father. How wonderful! But to make it more fun, they made it a week-end of riding motorcycles to some fun spot. Last year they rode through southern Ohio on winding back roads. This year was to be a trip to northern Ohio that included a stop over in Toledo to visit their Uncle.

They left Friday morning all smiles and excited. I stood in the driveway and waved as they drove off. Walking to the mailbox I whispered. "Keep them safe Lord." I've prayed that prayer hundreds of times and nothing has happened. I didn't emphasize it this time because I knew the ride would be fairly short and they are all three very careful drivers.

They were six miles from the hotel. Ron rolled a bit on the exit to begin his merge into an expressway lane. He stopped because it wasn't clear. Jamie was rolling behind him and when Ron stopped Jamie tried - but the breaks locked up and pitched the bike. Jamie had to lay it down on the left side.

Here's where God sent Angels that were prayed for long ago. God took every part of the accident into consideration and made adjustments for Jamie's safety. Jamie was only going about 15-20 mph. So the impact wasn't that hard. The bike he rented had an engine guard that kept it from laying on his leg. And....while Jamie was riding earlier in the day he had pulled out a peg that was for a passenger so he could stretch his legs back. (He's 6'3" and his legs get cramped easily.) Those two pieces kept the bike from getting too scratched and it also kept the bike above Jamie's leg.

Although Ron and Ken was scared for Jamie and had a hard time watching the events - Jamie was spared major injuries.

Here's even more......When the accident occurred, Ron and Ken said people came from everywhere. What was a busy exit bustled with activity from angels of mercy. Seven people stood around helping. One person was an off duty EMT. He was carrying first aid with him. Another was an off duty corrections officer who also had first aid. One of the other witnesses also had a first aid kit. They bustled around Jamie and had him secured in moments. Thank you - for all the angels that helped him!

Ron, Jamie and Ken all three wear full face helmets. There were no injuries to Jamie's head whatsoever!

Another person on the scene offered to take care of the bike. The bike was rented from a Harley Davidson place here in town. The accident was in Toledo. Ron was worried about Jamie and didn't want to have to worry about the bike as well. "Who are you and where are you from," he snapped while watching the men work on Jamie.

"Sir, I'm sorry. I work at the Harley Davidson store."

Ron puzzled, "Where?"

"We are just across the street." He pointed to the huge store about 100 yards away. "I'll be glad to help you." Ron was relieved that without even so much as a small prayer, God was taking care of that part of the problem.

The police arrived in about 4 minutes and an ambulance in about 6 minutes.

Jamie has a fractured bone in his left hand and a fracture on the top of his left tibia (leg bone at the knee cap). It could have been much worse.

He's a wedding photographer. But for the next two weeks he doesn't have a wedding. Knowing that it will be six weeks recovery he worried all the way home how he was going to cover the other times. He can use his right hand, but it will be difficult to get around. His assistant could help - but not if she is scheduled on the same week-ends. After he checked the schedule, he smiled. Another unspoken prayer had been answered. For the next six weeks they aren't scheduled on the same days. She will be able to go with him and help him until he is recovered.

I've been thinking about it all day. Actually since I found out about it Friday evening.

God heard my prayers when the children were tiny and he's still hearing my prayers of "Please keep them safe". But I'm also grateful when he answers the prayer of "Go with them and guard them."

Did an angel gently stop Ron from going out on the highway because the danger would have been greater down the road? Did an angel hurry others along so they would be in place to help Jamie when he fell? How many times a day do we "avoid" danger because God is answering a prayer from yesterday?

I understand that sometimes tragedies happen anyway. Good people suffer and life is hard, yet there are times like Jamie's. I was watching a small news clip interview with a mother and her child from the bus on the collapsed bridge in Minneapolis. She said, "If it hadn't been for the grace of God and a few seconds, the bus could have been crushed and my child wouldn't be here."

The loving Grace of God. How wonderful that we have a loving God. Never underestimate the power of prayer! Pray often for every member of your family, for every problem you see and especially for those you don't see.

God loves you,

Debbie